Coastal Research & Management

What Coastal Research & Management does

Coastal Research & Management (CRM) is a privately held interdisciplinary research and consulting firm headquartered in Kiel, Germany, founded in 1993 and operating as a civil law partnership (GbR). The firm combines marine biology, landscape ecology, and blue biotechnology expertise to deliver seven service lines: Environmental Impact Assessment, Monitoring & Species Survey, Renaturation, Coastal Zone Management, Bioinformatics, Aquaculture Consulting, and Education. It serves both public-sector clients (municipalities such as Stadt Flensburg, Amt Dänischenhagen, and state agencies like Landesamt für Natur und Umwelt Schleswig-Holstein and Wasser- und Schiffahrtsamt Lübeck) and enterprise clients (energy firms including ENGIE Deutschland and Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Kiel, utilities such as Stadtwerke Flensburg, and port operators including Seehafen Kiel and Hafen Orth).

CRM's underlying technology stack is built around applied marine science and molecular biology: environmental DNA/RNA extraction, gene expression analysis, 16S/ITS-based microorganism identification, marine natural products research, and a proprietary Peptides for Industry Database (PEFI). The company holds two granted patents in marine collagens for wound healing and cartilage regeneration, stemming from the Horizon 2020 GoJelly project. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts, with no publicly disclosed pricing or productized offerings; the go-to-market is direct sales-led consulting engagement, primarily in the northern German region with additional European and international project work in Chile, Greenland, Iceland, Israel, Indonesia, and Mauritania. CRM supplements consulting revenue with EU and BMBF research grants (ECOSMA, Baltic Blue Biotechnology Alliance, FucoSan, GoJelly, AQUATOR) and is actively involved in implementing UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Sustainable Use of the Oceans).

Name

Coastal Research & Management

Legal name

CRM – Coastal Research & Management GbR

Website

https://crm-online.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Coastal Research & Management (CRM) is a Kiel-based, interdisciplinary marine and environmental consulting firm founded in 1993, providing environmental impact assessments, monitoring, renaturation, coastal zone management, bioinformatics, and aquaculture consulting services to government agencies and private enterprises in northern Germany and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kiel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Environmental Consulting Services: Project-based consulting services for environmental impact assessments, monitoring, renaturation, coastal zone management, bioinformatics, and aquaculture consulting for private and public sector clients

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CRM provides project-based environmental consulting and applied research services for marine and coastal projects in northern Germany and internationally. Its service portfolio covers Environmental Impact Assessments, Monitoring & Species Survey, Renaturation, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Bioinformatics (DNA/RNA and 16S/ITS analyses), and Aquaculture Consulting, complemented by applied research in Blue Biotechnology, Marine Environmental Research, and Aquaculture Research.

Product overview

Coastal Research & Management (CRM) is a consulting and research firm that offers a portfolio of environmental consulting services and conducts applied research focused on marine and coastal topics. The company operates from Kiel, Germany, with an interdisciplinary team of marine biologists, landscape ecologists, and biotechnologists. The service offerings include Environmental Impact Assessment, Monitoring & Species Survey, Renaturation, Coastal Zone Management, Bioinformatics, Aquaculture Consulting, and Education. CRM complements its consulting services with three core research areas: Blue Biotechnology Research, Marine Environmental Research, and Aquaculture Research. The company has been operating since 1993 and actively participates in European and international research projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• First mussel farm on German Baltic coast established with CRM involvement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EU Interreg Baltic Sea RegioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2016Funding and coordination body for the Baltic Blue Biotechnology Alliance project. CRM developed a super-antioxidant algae extract as a bioactive raw material for the cosmetics industry as part of this initiative. The alliance involved 19 partners from across the Baltic Sea Region working to advance blue biotechnology in Northern Europe.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NIRAS: Nordic consulting firm with a marine and coastal practice serving Scandinavian and European clients; comparable in scale, geographic base, and project-based environmental consulting delivery.
• DHI Group: Danish water and marine consulting firm with global operations, providing environmental impact assessments, numerical modeling, and aquatic ecosystem services directly comparable to CRM's marine and coastal consulting practice.
• Royal HaskoningDHV: Dutch firm with a strong coastal and marine consulting practice covering environmental impact assessments, water systems, and aquatic ecosystems; directly comparable in service mix and European delivery.
• ABP Marine Environmental Research: UK-based marine environmental research consultancy offering EIAs, monitoring, and coastal process studies; directly comparable as a niche marine research and consulting firm.

Broad incumbents

• Arcadis: Global design and consultancy firm with an environmental and water practice that competes on marine and coastal projects; broader portfolio and significantly larger delivery capacity than CRM.
• COWI: Large Danish engineering consultancy with a marine/coastal and offshore wind practice; overlaps with CRM's environmental consulting but operates at significantly larger scale across multiple disciplines.
• SLR Consulting: Global environmental and sustainability consultancy with marine/coastal capabilities; comparable service mix but operating at much broader geographic and capability scale.
• Ramboll: Nordic engineering consultancy with a substantial marine environment and offshore wind practice serving German and European clients; comparable services but vastly broader portfolio and headcount.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with marine and environmental consulting practices; competes for the same EIA and monitoring engagements but at much larger scale.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global environmental consulting firm with deep marine and offshore practice; competes for EIA and impact assessment work across Europe and globally, but with much broader scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coastal Research & Management